Mid-Ohio is a famous race track in Ohio. IndyCar races there, and it’s the kind of track where drivers have to brake well and keep good grip through corners.
The speaker is referring to a race held at the Naval Base in San Diego, which is notable because it’s an unusual venue for motorsport. Street-race-style events at military bases create a different track feel than traditional circuits.
NHRA is the main organization that runs drag-racing events in the U.S. They set the rules and host the races.
Topic
SVS Insiders
SVS Insiders sounds like a paid community or club for people involved in racing. The host says it’s a place to get access to conversations and advice you can’t easily find elsewhere.
B2B means a company sells to other companies, not directly to everyday shoppers. Here, the host is saying Schaefer's Oil is mostly marketed through business channels.
Topic
San Diego Naval Base Street Race
They’re talking about a race event in San Diego on a naval base area. It’s a street-style course, meaning it’s not a purpose-built track with lots of run-off space.
A crew chief is the team’s main strategist in racing. They help decide things like when to pit and how to set up the car, and they communicate race plans to the driver.
Race strategy is the plan for how to manage speed, tire/fuel usage, and pit stops over the whole event. In NASCAR-style racing, it often includes timing of cautions, track position goals, and risk decisions.
A trackwalk is when the driver walks the course to look at the tricky parts. It helps them notice things they might not catch from just watching practice laps.
Wheel hop is when a wheel starts bouncing instead of staying planted on the ground. It can happen during hard braking and makes the car harder to control.
A three-pedal technique means using the gas, brake, and clutch together in a coordinated way. Drivers do it to help the car slow down smoothly and stay controllable when they downshift.
A road course is a type of race track made of lots of turns, not a simple oval. It often has different pavement conditions, so grip can change during the weekend.
Term
take rubber
“Take rubber” means the tires leave a layer of rubber on the track. That layer can make the surface stickier, so the car grips better after more cars run.
Topic
track grip evolution on a street course
They talk about how the track grip changed during the weekend—starting slippery and getting better after more cars ran. They also point out the hardest corners where drivers had to be very precise.
Grip levels are how much traction the tires have on the road. If the track is dusty or slippery, grip is low, and it can get better after more cars drive on it.
“Fast S’s” are quick left-right corner combinations. They’re tricky because you have to keep the car pointed the right way the whole time, or it can get loose.
“Ride online” means follow the best path through the turns. If the track is slippery, leaving that line can make the car lose grip and become hard to control.
Concept
data that's available to us
In racing, teams use telemetry and other onboard measurements to compare driver inputs and vehicle behavior lap-to-lap. This “available data” can reveal differences like gear selection, speed, and where a driver lost time.
Second gear is one of the lower gears in a car’s transmission. Lower gears usually help you accelerate harder, while higher gears are better for speed once you’re already moving.
“Beyond gone” tires are basically worn out. When tires are that far used up, they don’t grip the road well anymore, so the car can feel like it’s sliding.
Term
surface is as slick as it is
A “slick” surface means the track is very slippery. When it’s slippery, the tires can’t grip as well, so the car tends to slide instead of turning cleanly.
They’re talking about how what they learned this year will help them next year on street races. It’s basically using experience to improve future race strategy.
That phrase means the company that makes the race tires. Different tire brands can grip differently and wear out at different speeds, which affects how the car is tuned.
“VIR” stands for Virginia International Raceway, a race track in Virginia. It’s a popular circuit for teams because it’s challenging in lots of different ways.
Place
Dormit
“Dormit” sounds like it might be Donington, a well-known racing circuit. It’s likely another track on their schedule.
Place
Derzl, Georgia
That’s a place in Georgia mentioned to explain why the team likes going to VIR. The exact town name is a bit unclear in the recording.
Term
success rate
“Success rate” here is basically how often the driver does well. It’s about consistency across races, not just one fast moment.
“Flag to flag” means completing the entire race distance—from the start flag to the finish flag—without the race being shortened or the driver being taken out. It’s often used to emphasize a full-race, uninterrupted run.
TA2 is a specific racing class within Trans Am. A “TA2 car” is a race car built to compete under TA2 rules, which affects how fast and how the car behaves.
The Indy 500 is a huge, famous race in the U.S. It’s run on a big oval track in Indianapolis and it’s about 500 miles long. Winning or doing well there can really boost a driver’s career.
“GT” stands for grand touring, which is a type of sports car. In racing, GT classes are categories where cars are built to similar rules, and winning a GT championship means you were the best in that class.
A privateer is a racer or team that isn’t backed by a big factory. They usually have less money and fewer resources than manufacturer-backed teams, so it’s impressive when they’re still competitive.
Nitro Motorsport is a racing team/program mentioned here as having help from Toyota. That kind of support can make it easier to compete because the team may get resources that privateers don’t.
Wind tunnel time means testing a car in a facility that simulates airflow. It helps engineers figure out how the car’s shape affects speed and grip, but it costs a lot, so not every team can afford it.
Lime Rock refers to Lime Rock Park, a road course in Connecticut known for its short, twisty layout and frequent elevation changes. It’s a popular venue for testing and racing because it quickly reveals handling balance and tire behavior.
A “two-seater” just means the car has two seats—usually driver plus one passenger. Here, it sounds like they rode in a car that’s meant for racing or track use, not a big family vehicle.
Lincoln Electric is a company that makes welding equipment. In this segment, they’re mentioned as a big sponsor or partner at the event where the hosts watched the race.
Truckers, farmers, and racers trust it because it protects their gear and saves them time and money.
Learn more at Shaffer Oil.com.
All right.
Welcome back.
Pits are open.
We're out of your host.
SVS Insiders is part of a larger campaign that we're going to be launching soon called Speedway Venture Studio.
And we have an amazing board, advisory board of eight individuals.
And just within the last week and a half, I've had two people reach out to me, both in motorsports, wanting to know how they get to serve on the board.
That's a good sign when people are asking you how to get on the board.
So it's going to be wonderful.
And speaking of the board, speaking of wonderful people, I certainly enjoyed that craftsman truck race.
Because you know what?
Because Adam Andretti was driving.
He did a heck of a job.
He came from back in the field and had a really good, I don't know how many spots he jumped up, but it seemed like about 10 to me.
Anyway, hey, for, well, he's been on before.
Let's welcome him back.
Adam Andretti.
Hey, well, how's everybody doing?
All the fans there.
The pits are open.
Good to see you.
And love that this segment is brought by Schaefer's Oil.
I use that in our motor home and keeps our stuff running great and alive.
So it's perfectly fitting for what we do here.
It's amazing.
It's an amazing product.
I mean, you talk about it.
There's nothing better.
Yeah.
It's like, I mean, I tell them all the time jokingly, they're the best kept secret in lubricants because they don't go, they're not a retail brand.
They, they don't, they don't go direct to consumers.
And so, and you can buy it at different stores, but they, they really, it's more a B2B than it is a retail brand.
Anyway, hey, thanks for putting on a great show in San Diego.
I enjoyed that.
Now you started pretty far back, didn't you?
27th.
Yeah, we started 27th and came home 14th.
And, you know, obviously my guys at Tricon Garage, Seth Smith on top of the box there, my crew chief.
Yeah.
I've been around the sport a long time, been around NASCAR throughout my whole, you know, my entire brother John's career and started in 1994.
And Seth Smith is one of the best I've ever seen a call on a race.
His strategy and his, his mindset to where it's at is he's not afraid to take risks, which are, which is one of the most, I think is one of the toughest jobs, you know, in racing.
And one thing from that point of view is because it all comes down on him and, you know, he, at one point in the race, he goes, I want to kind of take a risk here.
You know, you tell me what you think.
And I'm like, Seth, you know how I feel about you and, you know, you're sitting on top of that box, you know, more than I do holding the steering wheel, pushing these pedals on what's going on in the race and the grand scope of things.
And, you know, we do this together as a team.
No one's going to sit there and put you in a headlock afterwards to give you a noogie.
You know, we're going to, you know, sit there and take our lumps if it's a lump and celebrate our victory if it's a victory.
So, you know, he did an amazing job as always calling a fantastic race.
And I just, I had to do my best to hang on to the thing.
I had, I put ourselves pretty far behind early on in the day.
I was the one turn that I didn't get to do on the trackwalk was turn 16, which was the last turn before the start finish line.
And because they had, they were practicing the skydivers coming in.
And so I had to skip that because I had a meeting that I was already late to.
And so we just, we skipped it.
And what I didn't get to see was there was a, it was a jump right at the apex.
And, you know, on, on my first lap there around the track in the morning practice, I hit that thing at really low rate of speed, but I hit it.
And if you didn't hit it right, I don't care what speed you're at.
If you didn't hit it with the right front first, it just tossed the nose of the truck.
And that's what happened to us.
And I hit the wall and exit.
So I was the first, not, not necessarily the distinguishment you want, but I was the first to test the barriers that, that they had set up there at San Diego.
And so we literally missed all the practice.
And for me, who has no experience in a truck, that was detrimental.
And so missed all the practice, all the qualifying started the tail.
The good news was for me was I didn't, I wasn't alone, right?
I think there was 17, a lot of cars.
Yeah, a lot of trucks, 17 trucks in those first two sessions that made contact with the barrier.
And, and even our car, our truck chief there, big Mike, he goes, Adam, he goes, if we were the only one back here working on the truck, I'd have it easy to be mad at you.
But I was obviously so apologetic and really humbled by the whole thing.
And it felt really bad for the, for what the guys had to do to get that truck ready for, for a race.
And, but so I drove extremely conservative at the, you know, pretty, pretty much the first half of the race to just basically get caught up on what everyone else already knew.
And place was tricky.
It was super, super tricky, really bumpy.
Like it made the Nashville street course feel like a billiard table.
It was, it was extremely bumpy.
And, and so it caused, you know, some challenges there, especially with wheel hop under the braking zones, no matter what you did, you know, I mean, even going through a three pedal technique.
And you even saw the best in the world at this with like SVG and the cup car find wheel hop in turn one in his qualifying run.
So, you know, I don't think anyone was immune to wheel hop.
I know it caused a lot of mayhem and misunderstandings during the race.
So, but, but nonetheless, I think it put on a great show, as you said, for the fans, and that's the most important part.
And it was amazing to be on that naval base, to be to the support we got from, from our brave men and women who, who have taken that, that plunge to, to serve for this great country.
And to do it on the year of the, of the 250th is something I'll never forget, because at one point you're, you're, you're racing right towards an aircraft carrier.
And, and, and you're seeing it decorated and you're seeing the sailors on it and because they're dressed in their whites.
And yeah, it was, it was something I'll never forget, something I'm very blessed and appreciative of the top liner and TriCon garage and Toyota racing for, for having me to be involved in it.
Because it was, it was a once in a lifetime deal to get to do that.
And, and I'm glad we put on a great show for the fans, because I think I truly think we did.
And, you know, I think NASCAR and their future going back there is going to be pretty special.
Yeah. Yeah, I think so. I think they're already kind of talked about returning there.
I think that's a, that's a high mark for it.
You know, I mean, I know road courses or street courses, you're always in every street course, you're going to deal with different services, you're going to deal with concrete and asphalt, maybe old asphalt, new asphalt.
As an outsider watching, it seemed like it was a pretty slick area.
I mean, was watching, you know, trucks coming through corners and man, they're like just a lot sideways through these corners.
Plus the wheel hop, you know, doesn't help.
But was it, was it more, in your opinion, I mean, you've driven everywhere, was it more slick than other street courses you've been on or, or no?
Oh, absolutely. By far. It was, it was interesting because, you know, you would expect, you would, the places you would expect it to take rubber, it didn't take rubber.
You know, even after two practice sessions for 35 trucks, a practice session for the O'Reilly series, auto parts series, the practice session for the Cup series.
And then we go race and I'm watching the end of Cup practice and I'm like, this place still isn't taking rubber and not even on asphalt.
And the places you would totally expect it to take rubber.
And then as, you know, 35 of us went out there and raced on it, it did start to take some rubber to it and the grip levels did increase, not everywhere.
You know, I think the, that, you know, 13, 14, 15 complex, the fast S's that caught a lot of people out throughout the weekend.
That was always slick. It was just very dusty through there.
If you weren't inch perfect and ride online, then you were hanging on for dear life.
And there were a few tricks that you could find it to get through there, but it was never like you were solid through there, at least not for me.
But anyway, it was, and I think what's great about it, it's the same for everybody.
It's not like Adam Andretti got a different racetrack than, you know, Lane Riggs, the winner.
You know, we all had the same racetrack to take after and, you know, my uncle always said it best.
Anyone could drive fast on a smooth racetrack with great surface.
And when you add those challenges, that's when it can really separate, you know, driver and I think it did that.
And we saw some, we always saw the cream rice to the top there.
It was great racing up at the front.
I think it was great racing, you know, through most of the pack and a little dodgy there mid-pack back.
But, you know, it's come to be expected in the truck series.
I mean, for all that you missed with that initial crash and still finished, you know, moved up from 27th to 14th.
And that's a huge jump.
And you missed out on practice, you missed out on some of the other stuff going on.
Man, if you would have, have not hit the bump in the last turn there, I mean, who knows what could happen.
I think you were flirting top 10 for, I know a lot of laps you were right there.
So I was, I was excited.
I was like, he's going to get a top 10 out of this boy.
Yeah.
Yeah, I agree.
I mean, like I said, it was totally on me that we got behind like we did on the race because of, because of, I mean,
and I wasn't because I was overcharging.
I was, we looked at, you know, the data that's available to us.
My teammate who was Caden Honeycutt, who is the supreme talent and was I think the truck to beat throughout the weekend.
And until again, he got some wheel hop into turn one and kind of put a damper on his day.
But if we looked at the data available to us, I was in one gear lower.
I was in second gear.
I was going 20 miles an hour slower than he was on that same lap.
And, and I'm the one that got in the fence.
It was just, you know, it was knowledge of the track.
I missed that knowledge and go figure it was the one turn we missed and our trackwalk.
And I'm really, I'm a, I'm a per, I'm old school.
So like trackwalks are super important to me because that's how you pick up those little nuances.
And I regret still to this day and not that you like to live with regrets,
but I regret that I didn't just wait it out, that I had a meeting I had to be to,
and that I could have waited out maybe 15, 20 minutes for those skydivers to get their test jump done
and then gone and made the walk and see what it is.
But I also trust in God's plan and he's got a plan for everything.
And who knows what that is.
I don't know.
I'm not here to question it.
I just trust it.
And, and that, that's where he had our plan.
And so we just tried to execute the day as best we could.
And like I said, without the great calls on top of that box,
at one point got us into the top five and those calls did.
So, you know, it was, it was on a weekend of prayer that I could hang on up there
because I was on tires that were, I was on tires that were beyond gone.
But because like you said, when the surface is as slick as it is,
all you're doing is, is just taking tire away and you're just,
you're sliding on top of it.
And, but I think we got some good information for TriCon when they go back to the street races for next year
and ways to, because they pretty much dominate all road courses, all road courses.
And, and, you know, but the street courses this year,
both St. Pete and, and, and San Diego have proven to be kind of a challenge
to be perfect with those trucks like they usually are.
So, but I think we got some good information on them, some good things to learn from it.
And I think they're going to come back stronger next year.
Well, you put on a heck of a show. I enjoyed it.
I thoroughly enjoyed it.
And I was so, you know, knowing you and knowing you're in there and battling it out,
it made it extra special for me.
So, hey, listen, hang on.
We're going to take another quick break.
A little sponsor love.
We'll be back.
We got more to talk about with Adam and Gretty when we return.
Stay with us.
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Oh, nice commercial for SVS Insiders.
I am excited about it.
I got excited.
We got new folks coming in and we're building a really great team.
And the whole concept is that we're not going to, to replace sponsorship.
We're always going to need sponsorship.
But what we're trying to do is help drivers and teams reduce their dependency on sponsorship
by building their own recurring revenue.
And it's real.
It happens.
And everybody else is trying to push it towards sponsors.
We're trying to create a little distance.
That's what we're trying to do.
All right.
Hey, let's welcome back a racer extraordinaire, Adam Andretti.
Trucks, cars, you name it.
He's a...
How's life in TransAm?
You still got some TransAm races coming up this year?
How's that looking?
Hopefully, yeah.
I mean, we went and tested about, oh, four weeks ago, about three weeks before they ran
Indianapolis last weekend.
And we found a lot of speed in the car.
And Martin Raghinter, who, Austrian driver, wonderful, wonderful driver, wonderful human
being above all, and him and Claudio Burton, the team principal of Burton Racing and owner
of Topliner brand.
And him and Martin have a great relationship.
So when I was racing in San Diego, I was going to be unable to make it to Indy to give that
a fighting chance and to really get what the car deserved to have.
Martin's definitely the call.
And Martin led most of the race.
And this is a car and a package that we couldn't come within eight to 10 seconds of the leaders
in the first two races.
So to find the pace that we did and to have it confirmed with Martin behind the wheel
at Indy was certainly special.
And I know that definitely motivated Claudio.
I don't know where we stand as far as what the next ones will be.
I know that we're not in a championship run.
So it's not like there's urgency to go back out.
And I think, I don't know if there's been an announcement or not, but I'm not sure if
there are going to be on the same tire manufacturer for next year.
I think that's still up in the air and being negotiated.
So I think we're kind of waiting to see what happens there because honestly, if we can go
for a 2027 run and get a little jump on the competition by spending some time on that
tire and maybe doing some testing, I think that would be a pretty important thing to
do.
But I'm a racer.
Claudio's a racer.
Burton Racing is full of racers with Damon, Terry and Austin.
And they just, we all want to go race.
So I know the next one up is Walkins Glen in July and then August is Dormit.
And then VIR is back, which is a pretty special one for the team.
It's pretty consistent that they go there as it's pretty close to home for them in
the Derzl, Georgia.
And it'd be great to finish out the season at Coda too because I love racing Coda.
It's been a very good place for me as far as success rate goes.
So yeah, I mean, again, keep, stay tuned is all I can say.
We don't have anything announced yet.
I don't have anything.
If I had something I could tell you, well, you know, I wouldn't hide it.
I know.
No, I get it.
And I just, you know, I just, I just want to see you run whatever you can run.
Of course, I love Trans Am, but, you know, hey, I saw, and I don't know what race it
was, forgive me, but I think your friend Matt Brabham went pole to pole with TA and TA2.
Yes, he did.
That's pretty impressive, right?
Yeah, I mean, here's, I think, so he won the TA race, you know, flag to flag from pole
position.
I think it was his first time ever in a TA2 car, if I'm not mistaken, I haven't got
confirmation from him yet, but I'm pretty positive that's his first time ever sitting
behind the wheel of a TA2 car.
They're very challenging to extrapolate the speed from them, you know, especially when
you're going up against the ones that run them day in and day out, like he did to go
out there.
You know, Scott Lagacy's program is a premier program in TA2, so it's not like it was, you
know, like he, you know, it wasn't like he didn't do anything that the car wasn't expected
to do.
It's expected to be up front, but no one, I don't think anyone in the right mind expected
him to do what he did as far as just absolutely shattering it on the pole like he did.
And since he wasn't running for points, and I think his teammates were, I don't want to
sit here and speculate that team orders were in play, but I know how well Matthew is a
team player for things like that.
So I would expect that maybe his, I don't know if his P2 finish was necessarily his decision
or decision made beforehand, but he finished second.
And he finished a strong second in that, in that TA2 race and knowing Matthew and what
he's capable of.
I'm sure he's capable of, he's capable of winning every race he could.
I think he's the most, one of the most underrated talents in our race.
I say it all the time.
It's a crime that he's not on the IndyCar grid weekend and week out.
I put him with the top five of all of the IndyCar drivers that are on the grid right now.
You can name them off.
We all know who they are.
And Matthew Brabham would be right there with them.
And so, yeah, I truly think it's something that the sport is missing.
And I think it's something that SVS insiders and the Speedway Venture Group is looking
to solve is that the supreme talents of that.
And Matthew is such a humble individual.
You're never going to find him beat his own chest.
I think right now you and I in this short time have done more promotion for Matthew Brabham.
He's done right.
Ever done for himself.
So he's again brilliant.
And as you and I know too, we like to measure people not only with the way they hold a steering
wheel, but the way they are off the track.
And Matthew is one of the most genuine, wonderful human beings that you ever care to know.
Absolutely.
But I think probably the same thing.
I mean, he was 1 Indy 500 2016.
I think for Matt, obviously it's a funding is an issue like for a lot of us, right?
Yeah.
Just just signed up another driver, you know, last week just signed up a TA2 driver, Adrian
Waltowski signed up and now he's a member.
And, you know, again, amazing.
You look at his history.
I mean, his kid worked up from nothing, established a great business, comes into a sport that he
doesn't really have a lot of connection and is a top, top contender in TA2.
Yeah.
I mean, he's a previous champion in the GT classes and he came into TA2, again, some
of the most challenging stuff, as you said.
You know, I think it's the most competitive series that you got going in America is TA2.
The Q3 architecture TA2 classes is so competitive.
It's so challenging and he comes in and he's always top 10.
You know, he's top five consistently.
Sure.
You know, he's snuck in a few podiums there and he does this as a privateer.
He doesn't have, you know, and when you look at the other programs like Nitro Motorsport
has Toyota support.
When you look at Scott Lagacy, SLR M1, they have General Motorsport, you know, and he's
sitting there right there with them.
You know, he's like always, you know, informing the one they call it the best of the rest.
And I hate saying that because I think it downplays, you know, how great, you know, the
effort is for Adrian and his group and what they've developed.
And again, he couldn't meet a nicer guy.
Like, again, humble, not, not, doesn't, but beat below his own horn.
I was surprised about, they get very almost virtually no help from Ford.
And they run Mustangs, you know, so it's just like to do that on your own and to be consistently
upfront.
It's impressive.
It's impressive.
Yeah.
I mean, he's, he's, he's not sitting there with, uh, he's not sitting there with, you
know, um, he's not sitting there with the factory money.
He's not sitting there doing wind tunnel time, like, and testing and all this stuff.
Like he, his tests are at the racetrack.
His tests.
Right.
Exactly.
Well, I talked to him.
I went to Lime Rock with him and that was one of the few times they got to test up at
Lime Rock.
And, uh, boy, I love his team.
And they love, and they love Adrian.
His team loves Adrian and they work hard for him and they go the extra mile form.
And, and you've got to respect that when you're, when the folks that are working for you think
you're awesome.
I mean, that's just wonderful.
Hey, listen, Adam, thank you again so much.
Again, I thoroughly enjoyed that truck race.
Oh my gosh.
That was so much fun.
And, uh, can't wait to see you in the next one.
Hope to get into some, some Trans Am Race 40 years over and thank you again.
Thank you for, and thank you for being part of SVI Speedway Venture Studio.
We really appreciate your support.
Oh, of course.
No, I, I'm a firm believer in what you're doing there.
Will, as you all know, and, and as always, thank you for having me on this show and,
and being able to tell our story and, and promote what we're doing.
And, um, and yeah, I think the world of you and what you've got going on in your vision.
And I know it's going to catch fire and we're just going to keep plugging away at it and,
uh, and, and change some of the perception of what's needed in this sport to go succeed.
And, um, you know, to all those out there listening and, and wondering, you know, don't
wonder and don't listen anymore.
Just act because, uh, there's no time like now.
Yeah.
It's a good time.
It really is.
This sport moves really fast.
So if you're not moving along with it or even trying to be a little bit ahead of it and
I'll be honest, this vision is ahead of the sport.
So, uh, so let's, uh, let's get on charge with it and, and support what's going on here.
And we can all do better for everyone else.
And, and, uh, I think we have the best community in the world in the racing community.
So let's go.
I agree.
Adam Andretti, everybody.
Thanks Adam.
Talk to you soon.
Appreciate you.
Thank you.
Thank you.
All right.
We're going to take a quick break.
We're going to come back from our, our, our sponsor break here and there, another very exciting
driver back at the wheel.
330 miles an hour plus.
It is at a strong when we return.
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All right.
Welcome back.
Welcome back to the pits are open.
Our next guest, Ida Zedestrom, a trailblazing NHRA top fuel drag racer, one of Europe's
most accomplished motorsports competitor, multiple time if I European top fuel champion.
Ida's made history as one of the few women drivers to successfully transition from European
drag racing to NHRA camping world drag racing known for her precision resilience.
I'll tell you, I talked to people to say she knows as much about the car as anybody.
She's got an incredible, incredibly good mechanical mind when it comes to that combines elite
performance with strong international appeal, helping expand NHRA reach to new fans and
markets worldwide recently signed with a new team.
Sean Reed racing NHRA top fuel competitor.
Ladies and gentlemen, Ida Zedestrom.
Hi.
How are you guys?
Hey.
How are you?
I'm good.
I'm just back in Indianapolis.
I was in Ohio last weekend here and we got kind of a heat wave going on here.
Yeah.
Yeah.
90 degrees.
I love it.
I love it.
Hotter the better.
That's what I'm all about.
I'm not really like that.
I just come from.
Well, yeah.
You're from Nordic land.
Snow and ice.
Yeah.
So how is it driving for Sean Reed racing?
What's what tells catch us up?
Oh, it's such a such a great team.
They have a really strong car, really strong team and everybody works really seamlessly
together.
I haven't been in the car so much yet.
I had my one race so far over in Charlotte.
My hardest part about that is almost such a tight budget.
So we were not able to really put me in for a test session or so on and before the race.
And when you have raised cars, you know that all cars are a little different and all routines
of every team is a little different.
So this race, we kind of found out what the differences was from the cars that I have originally
raised and the differences in how the team operates and so on.
So it was definitely a weekend of learning, kind of learning the routines, learning the
car and everything.
I wish that I would have had the money in the budget to kind of throw a session together
and get all those laps in before we hit the track.
But I feel like the next time we hit the track together now is going to be even stronger.
The car performed really well.
So still, but we just we just need a little more times kind of merge together like that.
But it's fun because everybody sees division.
The team is really excited and obviously they've been treating me really good coming over
here and they see all the potential of what we could do together.
And that is something that excites me a whole lot.
Yeah.
Well, you know, we're going to work hard on trying to close that gap for you and funding.
I told you that somebody that you know, Rusty Kirk, who was with JCM Nitro, is on our board
and he thinks the world of you and the team, that team thinks the world of you.
And he wants to work hard to try to make things work out better for you to close that gap
so that you can get more track time in and we all want to do that.
Yeah, I don't know if it's just the the impression or the image of it,
but it seems to me a little bit of social media that I see you're doing a lot more speaking.
You're doing speaking engagements and you're you're getting around actually with more microphone time.
Is that is that true?
Is it just what it appears to be?
Not more microphone time than last year.
Actually, last year I clocked a lot of microphone time.
I bought I did announcing for NHRA on all the races that I didn't race.
I had about eight events where I was actually on the Mike French Ray,
which was really exciting, something that I didn't take lightly because I know that that's a really hard gig
being an announcer at a racetrack.
So I got to learn a whole lot.
I got to obviously speak on the sport that I love and I felt like I would get to be a big part of it
even when I wasn't in the race cars.
It was something I truly did enjoy and I felt like it was also a way for me to to show my fans that
I mean, I've been around this my whole life and I actually been involved with several of the classes
and know, know quite a bit of it.
So it was fun to see that after a few couple of times that I did it,
people started coming after me and they said,
hey, I didn't even know that you raced bikes, for example,
but when the bikes rolled around and I was able to talk about that
and there was a lot of those kind of things that that was really great.
I haven't done as much of that this year,
but I have done a lot of kind of speaking engagements.
I've gone on different panels and spoke about the sport,
about what I'm doing and trying to, you know,
build up within the world of motorsport and drag racing.
And I did that a lot last year as well,
but it's kind of probably been more,
you've probably seen it more this year because I've been racing a lot less.
So I think last year you might have been kind of...
I saw less because I saw less, I mean, you're racing more.
Yeah, and now obviously I'm racing so much less,
so it's probably more, you can probably notice it a lot more
that the speaking engagements are,
yeah, that takes up a big part of what I've done so far.
So I'm not saying this, I mean, I am biased because I do work here,
but I'm just saying this, I know it's true.
With all that you have like going on social media and stuff,
you would be a perfect candidate for what we're doing with SVS Insiders
because we're trying to help drivers and teams take what they're already doing
and turn that into revenue, consistent, repeatable revenue.
And we're doing it, we want to help others do it as well.
Because, you know, we can't replace sponsors,
but we can hopefully cut down our dependency on sponsors
by being able to bring our own business to the table,
our own revenue generating.
How helpful would it be for you?
And I know the numbers are a lot bigger in what you're doing
than they would be, let's say, in a sprint car environment
or midget racing, not that we have midget racing, but smaller cars.
How helpful would it be though if you had an extra $10,000 a month floating around?
So obviously everything is helpful.
The thing right now is it's so expensive for us to actually go racing.
So when it's something like that, yeah, you're not going to be able to go race with that money,
but what you could do for that is obviously, first of all, pay yourself,
because that's a big thing over here.
Not every driver here is paid, I'm not paid for it.
It is really, really hard to make ends meet when that's the case
and especially if you don't have another company on the side
that you can depend on to bring in that money.
So that is the first thing.
Then the second thing is when you're out here and you're hustling
and you're trying to connect and find more partners and you're trying to go places,
it will cost you quite a bit when you're traveling, going to all.
I mean, I counted this year, if I were to go to all the NHRA races,
it's about $35,000 in hotels and rental cars and flights and all that.
And I can't afford that because if you don't have that coming in,
it's really hard to put that on.
So for someone like myself, and I know we are others obviously
in the same situation as me that are trying to break through,
we might have sponsors where it's enough for a couple of races,
but we are not on payroll with a big team
and we don't have a big team that are paying all our travel
and everything we're trying to do, but we want to show up as many events as possible.
Sometimes you have a company that says,
hey, you want to come film a podcast, but also whatever it might be
and it might be in New York or it might be in LA
and they might not cover your travel, but it is a good opportunity.
And that's the situation where if we had money like that coming through,
we could use it to make our brand bigger.
We could use it to go to, you know, an Indy 500 and talk to people.
I mean, not all of us have that.
I was very lucky this year that I was invited to go there.
I saw that.
But not everybody is.
It's situations like that, in my opinion,
because we all know that sitting at home waiting for things to happen.
That's not how you got to get out there and hustle.
And every time you go out there, I mean, I just got back from the HPX Expo
and they were, they invited me to come speak on a panel there,
which I really love doing.
And at that point, yeah, they helped me with travel to get there,
but that's not always the case.
And no matter if you fly or you drive and, you know,
it all costs a lot of money.
So everything like that, that you can have coming in every month
and you can put back towards your program
or you can put towards actually living in this economy.
That is incredibly helpful.
Even though it might not take you to be in the race car
and take you to the track,
but it might help build that foundation
so that you can actually get there.
It's like a stepping stone.
It's part of those tiles.
So we kind of need to.
No, absolutely.
Hang on to that.
I'm going to, when we get back,
I want to teach you the most three important words
when you're talking about speaking engagements.
We get back and then I want to hear about your indie.
I mean, I was up in a suite all day hosting,
so I didn't get a chance to get around seeing anybody,
but I want to hear about your indie 500 experience.
For sure.
We'll take a break.
We'll come back right back more with Edith Zettestrom
when we return.
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All right, welcome back.
The pits are open.
Time is just flying by here.
I have so much to talk about with our guest
and so grateful that she agreed to come back.
Edith Zettestrom.
Let me give you, you probably already know this.
I'm sure you do, but I do a good amount of speaking.
When I invited to speak somewhere,
I always, how I start before I ever ask any detail
or whether or not I'm coming,
the top three words that I ever say are,
what's the budget?
Because that separates the prospects from the suspects.
If you ask that question and they're like,
well, nope, not coming.
If they tell me up front that there's something,
okay, fine, I'll consider it.
But no, what's the budget?
Because your time is valuable.
You have to get paid.
You're very right, but sometimes there are opportunities
where you might look at it and you see,
okay, they might have the budget for some of it,
but they don't have the whole budget for travel
or whatever it might be.
But you see that, okay, the guests are big names.
This is something that can help me for the future.
I usually then try to still do it,
but what I try to do then is see if there's something else
I could do in the area at the same time
so that it's definitely worth my while.
If you're going for a trip and maybe you were able
to have some very useful meetings when you're there
or you can go and do something that's valuable
for you and your program.
But yeah, it definitely is hard.
And I mean, in reality, there's not a lot of...
You don't always get paid to do stuff.
A lot of times you kind of have to do it out of your own pocket
to get to the next step.
And yeah, if you are someone that's already a massive name,
yeah, you might be able to say that,
hey, I want paid to do this.
But in reality, I'm not raising full time right now.
I'm really happy when the stars align
that it's something that actually...
I feel like I can give really useful information.
Obviously, a lot of times they want us to come and talk
about how racing is, how fun it is to go racing
and what we're doing.
And that's very common.
But for example, when I was invited to the HPX Expo,
that was obviously to talk about the business of motorsports
and stuff like that makes me really excited
because it's obviously a passion project
that always wouldn't be here.
And yeah, they did cover all my travel
and everything to come over there.
That was a really good opportunity.
But that was one of those deals that even if they wouldn't,
I might have looked at it and see this might be still useful
for me because I'm able to share the fact that I know this
because not everybody in racing does.
And we have a lot of riders that might not have any clue
about the business in motorsports.
And when you're a sponsor and you're looking for someone
to partner with, I want them to understand that I know
how I can help them out within this sport.
And it's not just about a lot of people talk about
we want visibility and we want, but that's not it.
Like a lot of the time, the actual stickers on the car
is kind of a bonus because there's so much else behind the scenes
when it comes to the scene and how you can connect them
with different vendors or help find anything from,
you know, new dealers, new prospects, whatever it is
that they're trying to look for.
And yeah, sometimes it's marketing.
Sometimes it is that, hey, we want our logo as big as possible
on everything you do and we want our brand to be top of mind
when they see you in your race car.
But in reality, there's very few of the deals
that actually rely on that part.
There's usually a lot more on the backside of it.
If you can find a sponsor and their biggest interest is exposure,
do anything you can to sign them up right now.
Here's the contract.
I'll be right there with the contract.
I'll be there.
I don't have a single sponsor to just rely on that.
People might think they do,
but no, there's so much going on behind the scenes.
So much more.
And there's so much of that that we can talk about.
So that's good when you do get the chance to do it.
Sure.
All right.
Tell me about your Indy 500.
We only have a few minutes left.
Tell me about your Indy 500 adventure.
Was that your first 500?
No, I actually went last year as well.
So last year I was invited and we sat on the grandstands
and had a fantastic time and we watched it.
Actually headed out a little bit early
because we had an appointment that we had to get to
and we actually had to beat traffic.
But this year I got to see it from start to finish.
So that was fantastic.
I came in a day early and I went in the two-seater
with light and racing.
So that was light and motor sports.
That was fantastic to get to see that.
I have seen the track obviously from the outside,
but it was cool to see it going around as well.
So that was very cool.
Got to hang out with a lot of great partners
that we have there.
Lincoln Electric always has a big street over there.
So we had some things that we did with them
and got to actually watch the start of the race with them
on the grandstand and the flyover and everything.
It's just, they do such a good job on that.
I love the helicopters going by too.
Oh gosh, that's so cool.
The big flag that they did with the drones this year
was fantastic too.
Very cool.
So how did you feel about it?
I don't know if this is the right way to describe him,
but what did you feel about a Scandinavian
winning the 500?
I mean, is that a...
I mean, he's from Sweden and so am I.
So there's a kinship there.
Was that exciting?
It was really cool.
I was down on Petro when he won
and just get to see everybody from his team
and be so happy.
And what a way he did it too.
I think that was a ballsy move and I loved it.
Yeah, we were very excited to see that.
We have an eye workout that I do with Eric's vision
and when I go there, he goes to the same place.
So a lot of the time, sometimes I show up
and he's just done with his session
or the other way around.
So I get to speak to him a little bit sometimes,
but I don't know him super well,
but everybody that I've met that know him
only has great things to say.
Everybody always says he's a really great down-to-earth guy
and we all know that he's been a really great driver,
but I feel like as good as he's always been,
this still feels like the breakthrough moment
just because it is Indy 500
and he did it in such a spectacular fashion.
I feel like a lot of the times winning Indy 500
can change your whole life,
but then doing it that way,
that just made it so much cooler.
Supercharged it, right?
Yes, definitely.
So that was cool.
I follow his wife on social media
and they just had a little kid
and I should post it.
Yeah, so that was very cool,
kind of trying to follow all that.
I'm super happy for him and his family.
That's super cool.
Good.
Well, we're pulling for you.
Like I said,
we'd love to be able to find a way to close that gap
before you get you back in the car faster more regularly.
Anyway, thank you so much for coming on.
Thank you.
We really appreciate it
and hopefully we'll talk to you
and see you soon somewhere.
Absolutely.
I hope so too.
Thanks for having me.
Okay.
I just understand, everybody.
All right.
Hey, that's a wrap for us.
We are done.
Thank you everybody for watching on Speed Sport.
Please go to our website,
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Sign up for our newsletter,
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That'd be a big help.
Alex, thank you so much.
As always, fine job, sir.
Don't forget, next week,
former F1 driver, former IndyCar driver,
Derek Daly is out with a new book.
We're looking forward to talking with him.
And yeah, so have a great 4th of July weekend.
Don't eat too much.
Watch out for those fireworks.
Love you guys.
We'll see you next week.
Bye.
About this episode
The Pits Are Open dives into the chaos and strategy of motorsports, starting with the importance of pit stops and race-day execution. The show looks ahead to IndyCar at Mid-Ohio and the IndyCar race in Washington, DC, then spotlights a wild Craftsman Truck Series event held at the San Diego Naval Base. Adam Andretti joins to discuss his drive from 27th to 14th, the role of Tricon Garage and crew chief Seth Smith’s risk-taking calls, and how a missed trackwalk and an early barrier hit reshaped his weekend. Later, the lineup teases NHRA Top Fuel with Ida Zetterstrom and promotes SVS Insiders’ “Driver to CEO” revenue ladder.
The pits are open for a high-octane look at the wild NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series street race at the San Diego naval base. Host Will Marotti breaks down the action as trucks slammed the walls, battled extreme wheel hop, and raced sideways past decorated military aircraft carriers in a spectacular tribute to the nation. Plus, we look ahead to the upcoming IndyCar action at Mid-Ohio and the massive celebrations surrounding America's historic milestone.
On the business side of racing, we dive deep into how drivers and smaller teams can survive and thrive in today's economy. The crew outlines a six-step process to transform active racing programs into repeatable cash flow using the newly released Driver to CEO Revenue Ladder. Our guests share their real-world grinds of navigating tight budgets, maximizing international appeal, and delivering true business-to-business value to sponsors far beyond just putting a sticker on a race car.
Our Guests Today:
- Adam Andretti: A veteran legacy racer who recently competed in the historic NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series street race at the San Diego naval base with Tricon Garage. Overcoming a tough practice crash in turn 16 that forced him to miss qualifying, Andretti put on a spectacular show by charging from the 27th starting spot to bring home a 14th-place finish under the strategy of crew chief Seth Smith.
- Ida Zetterstrom: A trailblazing NHRA Top Fuel drag racer and multiple-time FIA European Top Fuel Champion. Renowned for her sharp mechanical mind, international appeal, and elite performance on the track, she recently transitioned to the NHRA circuit with Sean Reed Racing and actively expands her brand presence through high-profile speaking engagements and broadcasting.
Inside This Episode:
- 00:00:25 - Welcome to The Pits Are Open & Episode Preview
- 00:01:32 - IndyCar Mid-Ohio Outlook & The Nation's 250th Celebration
- 00:04:29 - SVS Insiders: Launching the Driver to CEO Revenue Ladder
- 00:08:22 - Schaeffer Oil Sponsor Spotlight
- 00:08:46 - Speedway Venture Studio Board Growth
- 00:09:42 - Adam Andretti on Tricon Garage & Slamming Walls in San Diego
- 00:21:01 - SVS Insiders Sponsor Spotlight
- 00:32:31 - Ida Zetterstrom on Sean Reed Racing & The Sponsorship Grind
- 00:46:09 - Scandinavian Success at the Indianapolis 500
- 00:49:12 - Wrap Up & How to Join the Pit Crew Newsletter
Sponsor & Social Blocks:
- Schaeffer Manufacturing: shaefferoil.com
- SpeedSport: speedsport.com
- America's Christian Credit Union: americaschristiancu.com/pits
- SVS Insiders: svsinsiders.com (Get a $50 discount off your annual membership using code: DISCOUNT50)
- Official Show Website: thepitsareopen.com
Connect with Us:
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